Paolo Di Canio's attempts to reshape his Sunderland squad appear to be gathering pace. The Black Cats have forced their way ahead of Arsenal in the pursuit of the 18-year-old Le Havre left-back Benjamin Mendy by agreeing a fee for the player.

The Le Havre president Jean-Pierre Louvel told Radio Monte Carlo: "We have reached agreement with Sunderland for the transfer of Mendy.It's now up to him to reach an agreement with them. We are OK."

The left-back has also been courted by Lyon, and Louvel did not rule out the Champions League qualifiers returning to hijack the deal.

"We were close to an agreement with Lyon, it has not happened but you never know," he said.

"Right now, the only club we are in agreement with is Sunderland and it is now up to Benjamin Mendy to make his choice."

Sunderland have been without a specialist left-back for some time, with loan signing Danny Rose having last season plugged a gap. The position has also been filled at times by midfielders Kieran Richardson and Jack Colback and the right-back Phil Bardsley.

If Di Canio does manage to land Mendy, the manager may also choose to bring in a more senior player for the same position in a bid to give the cover the club has lacked for some time.

Meanwhile, the Egypt international winger Ahmed Elmohamady's proposed move from Sunderland to Hull City is close to being completed.

The 25-year-old midfielder spent all but a few weeks of last season on loan at the KC Stadium as Steve Bruce, the man who had initially brought him to England during his time in charge at the Stadium of Light, handed him another chance to prove himself.

Elmohamady made a total of 41 appearances and scored three goals as the Tigers secured their return to the Premier League, and Bruce is keen to tie up a permanent deal.

The former ENPPI player cost the Black Cats £2m in June 2011 after a successful loan spell, and they would hope to recoup a similar amount on his departure.

That would supplement a transfer kitty which received a £9m boost earlier this week, the first and main instalment of the fee for the goalkeeper Simon Mignolet's switch to Liverpool.

Di Canio has promised to reinvest that cash to ensure Sunderland do not face the another fight for Premier League survival next season after finishing in 17th place at the end of the last campaign.

The Marítimo defender Valentin Roberge, the Basel midfielder Cabral and Lazio's Modibo Diakité will all join the club on 1 July, while youngsters Duncan Watmore and David Moberg Karlsson are already on board.